


Bleeding Out

by HanaHimus



Category: Persona 5, Persona | Revelations Persona
Genre: Conversations, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Happy Goro Day!, Hospitals, P1 and P5 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 05:39:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14562066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HanaHimus/pseuds/HanaHimus
Summary: Reiji Kido finds a boy bleeding out on his night time walk.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this at 2AM for a lot of reasons, not realizing it was Goro Day. Then I realized and I had to finish this because... Love me some sad bastard sons.

Reiji Kido hadn’t expected much on his late night walk, past maybe some peace and quiet and time to clear his mind. He’d just get back to his place, slide into bed, sleep everything off… And then go to work the next day. It was a rinse and repeat process.

He hadn’t thought much when he passed by teenagers chattering loudly. He’d thought even less when some drunks stumbled by, singing songs and laughing with each other like this was the best night of their lives. Other’s lives just weren’t something he could involve himself in much anymore. He had his own life to worry about.

The only thing that ended up really catching his attention was a form laying in some grass. He wasn’t the most savvy about television personalities past what Hidehiko chattered at him about, but… He was pretty sure the kid was Goro Akechi, that second coming of the Detective Prince or whatever.

If he had been anymore tired, he might’ve walked right past and paid no heed, but… He had just enough energy that he could check up on a kid laying in the grass, maybe even enough to scold him and tell him to go home.

“Hey…” He walked over to him. “You should--”

He froze when he saw blood seeping from a wound on the boy’s stomach. Had he been shot by someone? How recently had he been shot? Reiji hadn’t heard a gunshot and he’d been in the area for a while, so it had to have been some time back if he didn’t hear it. 

“Holy shit.” He dropped to his knees, checking the boy’s pulse and letting out a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse. “Hang in there, kid. I’ll call some help.”

“Don’t call an ambulance…” Goro’s words were croaked out as he grabbed Reiji’s arm. “I don’t want him finding me…”

“Who don’t you want finding you?” Reiji made a face as he unlocked his phone. He’d listen to the kid’s request (good thing Nanjo was sure to be able to do something off the grid about it), but he wanted to know just who he didn’t want finding out.

What he heard next made him nearly crush his phone in his hand.

“Masayoshi… Shido… My father…” Goro’s eyes looked distant and from the tone of it, Reiji could tell he wouldn’t usually let so much slip.

A father with a different last name that Goro probably wouldn’t talk about usually? That was a familiar feeling… Familiar enough that was going to do his damn best to keep this fucker out of the loop with Goro.

“I’m not gonna call an ambulance, don’t worry. I’ll call someone who won’t let word get back to that bastard, okay?” He pat Goro’s head as he pressed Nanjo’s number and put the phone to his ear. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Goro let out a small wheeze, but didn’t seem to have much more to say. That was understandable, honestly. Bleeding out didn’t exactly make conversations easy to have, after all.

“Hello? What do you need, Kido?” Kei’s voice came through first and pulled Reiji out of his checking over of Goro.

“You have access to medics that aren’t gonna be in the hospital records, right? I need some, right now.”

There was a long pause and Reiji felt himself get more agitated as he shifted the phone to be held by his shoulder. He needed to apply pressure to the wound, at the very least. If he could do that, he could at least keep the child alive.

“Where are you? And who do you need medics for?” Kei finally spoke up. “Describe the person to me.”

“I don’t know where I am. I can’t see the street address and I’m trying to keep this kid from bleeding out!” He started trying to focus on Goro and what he could tell Kei when something, a strange feeling he’d had in his gut, finally clicked as more than him being worried about a kid dying. “...Nanjo, I think he’s a Persona user.”

“What?”

“Goro Akechi, that… Detective Prince or whatever? He’s bleeding out in the grass and I think he’s a Persona user. My Persona’s reacting like he is, at least.” And he trusted his Persona. “Shit… Can’t you just track my location somehow and get over here? I didn’t think a bullet would do this much to someone with a Persona, but…”

There was another stretch of silence and Reiji couldn’t help but notice that his hands were covered in blood. There was so much blood, but at least it seemed to be bleeding slower now.

“I’ll be there soon. It would be easier if you knew where you were…” Kei let out a sigh. “But I’ll find you and bring medics.”

“Nanjo.”

“What?”

“...Thanks.”

“...You’re welcome.” And with that, Kei hung up, leaving Reiji to try and deal with Goro until help got there.

“S-so… I’m just gonna talk to you to keep you up kid. If you don’t have the energy you don’t have to talk…” He swallowed hard. “Shitty father, though? I know what that can be like… I’m a bastard child, too… At least, I’m guessing you’re a bastard child. Sorry--”

“I am… I’m unwanted…” Goro’s voice was still a croak as he stared up at Reiji. “I have no one…”

Reiji had a feeling that meant Goro didn’t even have a mother who loved him… He couldn’t even imagine what that was like. He was sure things would have just turned out worse for him if he hadn’t had his mother and (eventually) his friends back when he was a teen…

“Well, it’s gonna be okay…” Reiji nearly removed a hand to move the kid’s bangs, but upon seeing the blood replaced it. “I’m gonna be right here until help arrives and the help won’t let your father know anything…”

“You talk a lot…”

He decided against telling him it was only because he was panicked. “Yeah, I guess I do… Uesugi must be rubbing off on me.”

“...Why do you care?”

“I wasn’t gonna leave a kid bleeding out on the ground, I have a kid about your age, maybe a little younger… It’s terrifying to imagine Takashi being left to bleed out because no one cared, so…” Reiji shook his head. “And now that we’re talking? Sounds like you have a lot of shit you need to talk about. Maybe after we get you some help we can talk, since… I might not know what it’s like to have no one, I know what it’s like to be a bastard.”

“I don’t understand…” Goro let out a breath, but didn’t say anything else. Reiji was tempted to ask him to explain, but the kid wasn’t in good condition, he needed to save his energy.

“Just hang in there, okay?”

It wasn’t long after that that Kei and some medics showed up. Kei pulled him away from the boy and the medics went to work, leaving Reiji to stare down at his bloody hands. He hoped the pressure he’d put on the wound was enough to help.

“I think you were right, Kido. That boy does seem to have a Persona…” Kei spoke up as he dragged Reiji to his car. “It sounded like you took a while to realize that, though.”

“I was panicking over the kid bleeding out so I didn’t realize Mot was reacting to that, okay?” Reiji leaned his head back against the back of the seat. “Shit, hopefully that Persona’ll be enough to keep him alive.”

“I’m sure it will be.” Kei shook his head. “It may be worth questioning what happened to him later…”

“Let me do it then.”

“Excuse me?”

Reiji frowned at Kei. “Let me talk to him about what happened. He revealed some stuff about himself and… Kid’s had it rough. I can’t relate to everything he said, but I think I can relate to enough.”

“I see…” Kei gave a small nod. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Thanks…” Reiji looked out the window and let out a sigh. He wasn’t sure how it’d go, seeing as he was still kinda rough around the conversational edges, but… He had to give it a try. Besides, he wasn’t sure about Goro, but he knew being question by someone like Kei after near death sounded like the  _ worst  _ way to spend recovery time…

Well, whatever. It’d probably be a while before he was stable and even longer before he woke up. Reiji would have some time to think about what exactly he wanted to say…

At least, he thought he would. Apparently that Persona of his really came in handy… It took less time than expected to get him stable and at that point Reiji had sat in his room, waiting for him to wake up. It didn’t take long for that, either…

The first thing Goro seemed to do was panic, try to get out of the bed. Reiji had to stand and push him back down, try and quiet and calm him… It had been kind of a mess, seeing as a guy like Reiji, with a resting bitch face and all, pushing you down and hovering over you wasn’t exactly fun… But a nurse had come in and helped him…

Now the two were just sitting in silence, apparently neither one wanting to say anything… Reiji had a feeling it was gonna be him who finally spoke, though, so he might as well get to it.

“Your… Masayoshi Shido. He’s not gonna be able to find you here. He’s not gonna hear anything that’s said either.” Maybe starting with some reassurance was a good idea. “This is a private hospital of sorts… Everything’ll stay between you and me.”

“I…” Goro looked ready to argue, but he deflated fairly quickly. “I revealed who Shido was to me, didn’t I?”

“You did, but don’t worry about it…” Reiji shook his head. “You were out of it because of blood loss. Besides, at least it was you who revealed it. Not fun when the people you’re working with find out about it via your half-brother saying shit.”

“Half-brother…?”

“When I was in high school some people I was working with to let me… Get closer to the revenge I wanted… We got to my half-brother and he wasted no time revealing the relation.” Reiji sighed, shaking his head. “We’re not talking about me, though.”

“Then we’re talking about me, aren’t we?” Goro gave him a blank look. “I’m not sure I have anything to say to you.”

“I just wanna know what happened that led to you getting shot, okay?” Reiji ran a hand through his hair. “An injury like that doesn’t just happen, after all.”

“...You could say my father shot me. I would go into detail, but…” Goro gave a bitter laugh. “You would call me crazy.”

“I doubt that.” Reiji shook his head. “I’ve seen plenty of crazy shit in my lifetime, nothing you say could really throw me off.”

“What if I told you I was shot by a being that looked like me and acted the way Shido perceived me?”

Reiji blinked a few times. “That…”

Goro scoffed. “I knew you’d think I’m crazy--”

“That kind of reminds me of what happened with Sonomura… I mean, it’s a little different since people would sometimes get changed around based on what her ideal was and nothing else, but…” Reiji rubbed his nose. “It seems kinda similar.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ever hear about the SEBEC Incident, kid? Or about the DEVA System?”

“I’ve read reports about it…” Goro furrowed his brow. “But I don’t understand.”

“Maki Sonomura was a sick girl… She got hooked up the system by Takahisa Kandori, my half-brother…” Reiji paused and leaned back. “It was powerful enough that shit started going down, including throwing things around between the normal Mikage-cho and her ideal Mikage-cho… Including her ideal self.”

“That definitely isn’t exactly the same…” Goro shook his head. “I was in Shido’s Palace… An area that was distorted by how he saw it and by his desires… There’s no machines involved and everyone acts according to how he sees them, not on his ideal for them.”

“Didn’t say it was exactly the same.” Reiji help up his hands. “Still, there’s some similarities, wouldn’t you say? What you’re saying is out there, sure… But for us Persona users, it’s not that shocking.”

“Us…? You…?” Goro shook his head. “How did you know?”

“My Persona reacted to yours?” Reiji rose an eyebrow. “Most Persona users I’ve met since Sumaru City don’t seem to recognize other Persona users so easily… Huh, guess that’s just how it is now.”

“But…” Goro gripped his sheets. “How did you gain a Persona?”

“Uh… Played the Persona game when I was younger and then got thrown into a life or death situation. Bres just kinda came to me at that point.” Reiji shrugged. “It was pretty easy to get a handle on him too. Was it… Different for you?”

“Yes…” Goro looked away. “And I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I see…” Reiji stood up, walking by Goro’s bed to pat his head before making it for the door. “Seems like you’re probably ready to sleep anyway. We can talk about more things tomorrow, after I get off work, okay?”

“Why do you want to talk more? I don’t get it.”

Reiji paused and turned to look at him. “You said you had no one, right? I can’t imagine how rough that is, so… I wanna try and give you someone you can at least talk to.”

“You won’t be saying that once you learn what I’ve done.”

Reiji shrugged. “Tell me about it tomorrow then, and we’ll see.”

“...Fine.”

“Get some rest then, kid.” Reiji turned, giving a small wave as he went. “You’re probably gonna need it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reiji and Goro talk more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was gonna be a oneshot but I had ideas for more of what they could talk about, so... Two-shot now? Mmmmmaybe more, we'll see. But if/when it updates it'll function like it's just gonna be whatever I post is the end, if I'm making any sense.

“So…” Reiji threw himself into the chair next to Goro’s bed. “You gonna tell me what you did that makes you so sure I won’t wanna be there for you?”

“You weren’t joking about coming back…” Goro scoffed and leaned back against his pillows. “I was hoping you were.”

“That so? Well, sorry to disappoint I guess.” Reiji paused. “Anyway, talk to me. Tell me about you and I’ll tell you about me to make it even.”

Goro frowned, looking away. “Maybe I don’t want to know anything about you.”

“Just thought I’d offer, in case it’d make things easier on you. I can stay quiet about it, if you want me to.” Whatever got Goro talking, Reiji would go with it.

“...The only thing I want to know is your name. I’m not telling a nameless stranger anything about me.”

“I’m Kido, Reiji Kido.” He thought about holding out his hand for a handshake, but decided against it. “And you’re Goro Akechi, right?”

“Yes… I guess my name is still plastered everywhere…” Goro gave a bitter laugh. “That’ll all fall apart soon enough.”

“You think so?” Reiji rubbed the back of his head. “I mean, we can get you back out there eventually. You’re a beloved detective--”

“Not really… What I’m about to tell you is going to make that much clear.” Goro shook his head.

“Really?” Reiji put his chin in hand and frowned. “Talk to me about it, then.”

“It’s all fake. The cases I’ve solved with the psychotic breakdowns?” He let out a shaky break. “I induced those breakdowns, swooped in and solved the cases… Just to gain from it.”

“Well… That’s pretty nasty, I have to admit.” Reiji rubbed the back of his neck, doing his best to not kind up at the kid in shock. “That’s caused a lot of issues for people… You’ll need to admit to that and turn yourself in, but… Last I heard a lot of the incidents didn’t end in death or anything, so I’m sure some people would be interested in seeing you make a comeback.”

“I have brought a lot of death, though. I’m sure you’ve heard of the mental shutdowns, yes?” Goro looked at his hands. “After I approached Shido with my ability to cause psychotic breakdowns, I was employed and taught how to cause the shutdowns. You kill the Shadow, you kill the person.”

“Well… You should probably turn yourself in, making sure to note it wasn’t until you were ordered to do it that you did, but…” Reiji sighed. “How do I put this…?”

“Don’t worry, I know my adoring fans will drop off as soon as they hear about what I’ve done--”

Reiji held up a hand. “That’s not it, I just… I think I have more problem with those psychotic breakdowns of yours. Killing people… It’s not a good thing, but damn if I haven’t done my fair share of killing. Hell, I can’t even count how many of Kandori’s goons I took down on my own trying to get to him, let alone after I joined up with Toudou and the others… Hell, I took down Kandori himself with those guys.”

“Still…” Goro shook his head. “It’s not like you have the public watching your every move, ready to disown you with one mistake.”

“You’re right, I don’t. But that’s not what matters. I still wanna be there for you kid, what you’ve said isn’t enough to make me back off…” Reiji leaned forward. “You’re gonna have to do some time for what you did, for sure… But… I’ll be there.”

“What do you mean you’ll be there? Not much you can do for some inmate.”

“I can visit you, send you care packages.” Reiji shrugged. “It might not be much--”

“I don’t want you to do that!” Goro began shaking his head. “I’ve done horrible things, all to get to my worthless father… Watch him rise up, only to watch him fall when he realized who I was… I was willing to do anything, to kill anyone…”

“...That’s a different sorta revenge than what I went for, but, alright…” Reiji wasn’t sure he could say much, but… “But, even though the goals were different, I was willing to kill for mine too. Hell, my goal was to end an entire damn bloodline… You think any of the killing I did means my friends and mother should’ve given up on me?”

“You’re not like me… You knew love as a child, had support.” Goro let out a bitter laugh. “It’s too late for me.”

Reiji frowned, running a hand down his face. “Okay. Let’s see… You’re gonna probably need some therapy on top of that jail time…” Though maybe Goro lashing out like this was a sign the therapy would be a higher priority…

“Therapy?” Goro shook his head. “It won’t help! It’s not like I can tell them all of what I’ve told you--”

“Sonomura.”

“What?” Goro narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Maki Sonomura, I mentioned her before, right? She’s a Persona user too, knows at least the basics of what happened with Mikage-cho, and… Became a therapist to help kids like her… Kids like  _ you _ .”

Goro went silent, looking at his hands for a moment. “I don’t see why you’re ready to try and think of everything…”

“I see a lot of myself in you, that’s why.” Reiji shrugged. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain, seeing as we’ve talked about it a lot as is.”

“Just because you see yourself in me… It doesn’t mean I deserve this.” Goro shook his head.

“You’re right, you may not deserve it, but… Maybe I didn’t deserve Toudou and Inaba trying so hard to reach out to me, either. It doesn’t mean I didn’t get it.” Reiji reached out a hand, placing it over Goro’s. “The only thing that matters is that someone  _ wants _ to help you. You’ll have plenty of time to repent while you serve your time.”

Goro’s lower lip quivered as he dug his nails into his blanket. “You’re just saying that because I almost died. It’s just like them… They only showed care at the very end…”

“Them?”

“The Phantom Thieves of Heart, I’m sure you’ve heard of them.” Goro’s face scrunched up in, well, Reiji wasn’t sure if it was anger or sorrow. “I tried to kill their leader, but they were ahead of me… I tried to directly confront them and that’s how I ended up where you found me… At the very end, they reached out a hand to me. I didn’t take it.”

“So you tried to cut them off from you, even when they were willing to help you out…” Reiji let out a snort. “Something else about you that reminds me of myself. You and I are both as stubborn as a pair of mules.”

Goro frowned at Reiji and shook his head. “I don’t like you.”

Reiji shrugged. “You don’t have to like me, kid. You just have to know I’m not giving up on you.”

“...You’ll just end up disappointed.”

“Whatever. I’m willing to take the chance, haven’t taken one in a while, after all.”

“You’re either an idiot or ridiculously brave to risk getting close to someone like me.” Goro shook his head. “Don’t blame me if something goes wrong, though.”

Reiji let out a hum. “Funny, I feel like I said something sorta similar to someone once… Don’t worry. I’ve learned to accept consequences for my own idiocy.”

“That so?” Goro closed his eyes and let out a breath. “Go away… I want to rest.”

“I haven’t even been here that long, kid…” Reiji shook his head as he stood up. “But if you want me to go for now, fine. I’ll be back again.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Reiji thought for a moment. “I wanna keep an eye on you, and, well… The rich guy making this possible probably has questions for you. Trust me when I say it’ll be better if I ask them for him.”

Goro frowned at Reiji. “You can’t be so sure about that.”

“I’ve known Nanjo since high school, I think I’d know… But whatever. If you really get so tired of me you don’t want me around, I’ll tell him to come talk to you himself.” He paused. “But if you decide he’s too much, I can start visiting again.”

“...If I get tired enough of you, I won’t prefer you over anyone.”

Reiji shrugged. “The offer is still gonna be out there, just in case you wanna talk to someone who can at least kinda understand where your stuff is stemming from.”

He shook his head. “You can’t--”

“Fully understand? I know I can’t… But I can understand more than some people.” Reiji rubbed the back of his neck. “At least the father shit and the whole revenge business, at least somewhat.”

Goro shook his head once more before laying down fully, covering himself with his blanket. “Just go away.”

“Got it… See you tomorrow, then, Akechi.” He pat the boy’s covered head and made for the door. “Sorry in advanced that a lot of the questions won’t be from me, by the way.”

“Go!”

Reiji sighed, fully exiting the room, only to be face to face (or as face to face as he could be when he was taller) with Kei. Had he been listening in? Or maybe he’d been on his way to talk to Goro on his own.

“Nanjo.”

“How did talking with him go today?” Kei crossed his arms. “Anything I should know.”

“Kid’s messed up… Needs some serious help.” Reiji sighed. “Also needs to turn himself in for some shit.”

“What does he need to turn himself in for, then?” Kei rose an eyebrow.

“You know those psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns that you and that Kirijo woman were so worried about?” Reiji looked away as he threw a thumb back towards the room. “Found the culprit.”

“I see…”

“Yeah… I dunno if my word means much, but I say we keep him off the radar until he’s healed and we’re sure that Shido guys won’t catch wind of it.” Reiji knew waiting to bring that kinda stuff with Nanjo was a bad idea, so… The sooner, the better.

“I see… I’ll consider what you’re saying, then.” Kei paused. “I just hope you’re right in waiting.”

“Just keep him under surveillance and it should be fine. I’ll keep checking up on him so he doesn’t think you’re getting lax with it, either.”

Kei nodded. Looked like they were on the same page, then. That was rare… Rare, but nice. If only they could come to agreements like this more often, instead of only when it was something major…

“Well, I’ll be going.” Reiji pat his friend on the shoulder. “Need to get home, maybe make a few phone calls.”

“Phone calls?”

“Yeah…” Reiji nodded. “I think Sonomura might wanna hear about Akechi too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Anyway, probably a kinda vague ending, but I didn't want to drag it on or anything lmao


End file.
